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Why Aston Villa | History
Why
Aston Villa?
The year was 1982. The location was at the school canteen of Saint
Joseph Johor Bahru. My friends Muthu, Justus and Ramesh were engaged in
heavy discussion on the on going FIFA World Cup football tournament in
Spain. I am naïve and totally obscure person when it comes to football
knowledge back then. As they were engaged in highly energy sapping and
emotional discussion, I budged in without permission with the following
questions? Are Zico and Maradona playing for Brazil? Are Bryan and Bobby
Robson related? Stoke City(supported by Justus), Leicester
City(supported by Ramesh) and Sunderland(supported by Muthu) playing the
World Cup? What an irresponsible questions to the genius trio?
Immediately I was told shut up and advised to get my facts right.
Gutted, disgruntled and mentally challenged, I promised myself to do
justice to myself by reading on football and its history. The entire
school holiday in year 1982 was spend on reading about World Cup,
European championship, European Cup, Cup Winners Cup, UEFA Cup, English
League and everything that was available on football. The entire holiday
was spend on memorizing the 1982 World Cup finals score from the 1st
game when Edwin Van Der Berg open his account for Belgium against
Maradona’s reigning champions Argentina to the last goal by Itallian
Allesandro Altobelli in the 3-1 defeat of West Germany.
But I didn’t stop there. I proceeded to find my own English team. Based
on history should it be Liverpool, Manchester United or Arsenal? But
everyone seems to support them. I need a classic team with history, a
team where no one supports (at least those are near my vicinity), a team
who can be associated with my own name. That is where Aston Villa stood
up. The initials ‘A’ and ‘V’ is part of my own name. Aston Villa
represented my own passion for excellence, the untiring effort for
improvement, the willingness to go the extra mile, astuteness for
promised greatness, the nobody who anyone wants to be associated with,
the one who spring surprises, the underdog, the dark horses of the
tournament and right enough till now, its year 2005 I haven’t come
across any supporters of Aston Villa, at least in Malaysia.
It has been 23 years now, I have been supporting the Villan’s through
the thick and thin. Never once I opted for any other teams because it
makes me a rare breed among people who swap teams like changing their
ward rope. I have a very BIG dream though. By 2009 when our ASK building
is in operation, I will dedicate part of the ground floor for my own
Aston Villa fan club. I am also preparing my CASH to buy a certain stake
at the club which will put me in a position as one of the owners of the
club. When I do my PhD, I have planned to associate myself with the
Aston Business Scholl, which is only a stone away for Villa Park. Villa,
here I come!
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